Happy Birthday Blissy

I still see you in your carseat/stroller outside Baby Gap with that little ski-slope nose of yours and no-tooth-smile.

Your father thought the name “Bliss” sounded too flower-childish, but he went with it after we mistakenly received a letter to our rented apartment addressed to Thomas Bliss a few days before you were due. After you were a few months old, he rightly concluded it was the perfect name since you never cried. Happy and smiley all the time…a bubble of joy and a burst of energy. Fierce defender of your older-but-milder-tempered sister Ryli, you bloodied more than a couple of noses and came through elementary grades with a few scrapes and bruises…but your friends always knew they could depend on you!

Your middle name, Berit, means beautiful, and that – you surely are. Inside out out. But what shines brightest is your passion…they way you cry because a film was so perfect or a book was so good you just didn’t want it to end.

Blissy with her friend Jack. I think they were cut from the same cloth.

How angry you can get and then swallow your tears because of injustice or misunderstanding. Always fighting for the underdog, believing the impossible, striving for greatness….

Bliss, may you always feel the warmth and light of the Good Lord’s face shining upon you. May each foot fall in the shadow of Jesus, as you walk beside Him every day. May you always fill full of joy, strength and love, as the Holy Spirit inhabits every aspect of you. May the armor of the Lord gird you as you fight for the Kingdom and your brothers and sisters in Christ. And, may your heart always remain tender and caring, where armor has no place. Be blessed and step into the new year with a renewed sense of clarity, wisdom and direction in your life.

A little late but Happy Birthday, Bliss! You are an amazing example and a beautiful person inside and out. I will never forget talking to you at one of your parent’s parties and I was so impressed! I think you were 10 or 11 years old. You are one of the reasons I was inspired to homeschool my kids! Thank you!!